Bird confusion prompts architecture debate

ATLANTA, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Glass-coated buildings in cities like Atlanta have proven to be slaughterhouses for confused birds -- and are at the heart of an architectural debate.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday that due to the growing number of birds flying into such buildings, architects are being asked to take regional bird populations into consideration when designing buildings.

Ornithologist Daniel Klem said that while officials at Atlanta's Emory University draped their Mathematics and Science Center in black mesh to avoid untimely avian deaths, the architecture industry's overall response is another story.

"We know what it takes to fix it," he said. "The question is how willing is the industry?"

Based on his research into the problem, Klem estimated that more than 100 million birds die annually in the United States after colliding with glass surfaces.

By simply coating their building with netting for three months every fall, Emory University officials allow confused birds to bounce off the structure unharmed and go on their way.